


The Long, Dark Night of Will Stevens

by irena_adler



Series: Watson [25]
Category: Numb3rs
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Caretaking, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 02:43:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10688142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irena_adler/pseuds/irena_adler
Summary: Will rescues Don from The Chamber.(Will's POV of parts 6 & 7 of 'Looking for Love')





	1. Dungeon

**Title:** The Long, Dark Night of Will Stevens, Part 1 **  
**Pairing: Don/Will **  
**Rating: NC-17, FRAO **  
**Summary: Will rescues Don from The Chamber.  
Part 1 - Dungeon  
Will discovers what Channing has done to Don.  
**Disclaimer:** Not my characters, not my world, making no money. **  
**Feedback: Yes, please! Feed the author!  
**Warnings: Angst, Abuse**  
**A/N:** And now for something completely different ...  This is Will's POV of Parts 6  & 7 of  "Looking for Love."   This story will be in four to five parts. Thanks to my betas. ****

****

****

****Part 1— Dungeon**  **

Will Stevens nodded to a fellow DEA agent.The raid had gone well, and all that was left to do was the mop-up.He took a quick look around, reassuring himself that things were indeed in hand, and slipped away.

He walked swiftly down the hall of The Chamber.He glanced up and down the hallway then tried the door handle to Channing’s dungeon.Locked, of course, but he made quick work of it then swung open the door … 

… to a scene from a nightmare.

The room had bare concrete floor and walls, with ropes, pulleys and weights hanging from the walls and ceiling.The smell of blood, burnt flesh and, oddly, vanilla hung in the air.Blood was everywhere, on discarded whips, knives, and hammers, pooling in a thick puddle in the middle of the floor.At the center of the pool of blood crouched a naked man, tied into place so his arms were stretched out to the sides, his feet tight underneath him, his chest forced over his bent knees.His body was covered with tiny, sharp clips, straps kept other items in place including his left hand on a wooden stool, and he was wearing a full-head hood.Every inch of skin that Will could see was scored, cut, burnt. 

Automatically Will shut and locked the door behind him, swearing viciously.He wished that he could believe that the broken creature in front of him wasn’t Don Eppes, one of the FBI’s finest.But Will had kept too close of a watch on him tonight, knew that Don had gone into Channing’s dungeon.

Will’s breath stopped, sure at first that Don was dead.Then the hooded head moved, like it had heard a sound.Will started breathing again, anger and fear flooding into his lungs with the foul air. 

“ _Fuck_ , Don, what did you let him do to you?” Will demanded.“I should never have …”Will bit his lip. _Later, Stevens._ Will slammed a wall down on his feelings, separating himself from the horror of the scene so he could move from his frozen position.

Will stepped into the pool of blood and unsnapped the mask.He peeled it off as carefully as he could, made difficult by the built-in ball gag.He levered the massive ball out of Don’s mouth, noting, like he would at a crime scene, the blood on the gag and around the mouth.Don’s head emerged from the mask, his hair smashed, his face coated with tear stains, his eyes vague and empty. 

Don blinked and squinted his eyes, trying to focus on Will’s face.

“It’s okay, Don,” Will said, using his ‘calm the victim’ voice.“I’ll get you out of here.”He glanced toward the door, hoping he hadn’t been missed. 

As quickly but gently as he could, Will untied Don’s wrists, grimacing as he had to pull the thin cord out of the bloody grooves in the skin.He unstrapped Don’s left hand from the wooden stool, his gorge rising reflexively at the fleshy pulp that was Don’s pinkie and index finger.

Don’s eyes wandered toward his body then back up to Will’s face.“Who …?” he asked in a voice shattered and raw. 

“I’m Will Stevens,” Will said, unbuckling the straps that went around Don’s hips.A massive dildo had been wedged into his ass, the skin around his asshole stretched and broken.Will slowly pulled the dildo out, continuing in a conversational voice.“I’m DEA.We did a drug raid here tonight and—“

Will stopped as he realized that Don had fainted. _A good thing._ Will tossed the awful dildo aside and began to work much more quickly.He systematically removed all the clips, revealing sores, whip scores, and blistering burns.He pulled a long plug from Don’s swollen penis and removed swinging weights from his nipples and balls.Lastly, he pried the thin cord from its deep grooves in his ankles.Fresh blood pumped from those wounds and Will knew he needed to stop it. 

Setting Don carefully onto the floor, Will stepped over to the room’s second door.It was also locked and it took a precious extra second to pick it with his blood-slick fingers.Behind was the back hallway which led to rooms out-of-bounds to subs.Will hurried down the hallway to the supply room.He grabbed up some tight-weave towels and a set of sheets.He turned to go back to Don but out of the corner of his eye he saw the door to the Doms’ locker room.

The urge rose in him, blinding and terrible, to find Channing and kill him, slowly and painfully.But Don came first.Will made himself take two deep breaths then went back to the room where he’d left Don. 

Don was slumped on the floor, still unconscious, lying on his side in the pool of blood.Will gritted his teeth against another surge of horror and forced himself to look at the situation with an EMT’s training.Don had lost a great deal of blood, but Will didn’t think it was to the life-threatening level. _Don’t_ think _so?Willing to risk Don’s life on that?_ The need to protect and help Don overwhelmed Will, shocking in its ferocity.He hardly knew the man but here he was gambling with his own career to save Don’s.

Telling himself he could change his mind later when he got a closer look at the wounds, Will wrapped the towels around Don’s ankles and wrists.He also pressed a towel against Don’s anus.Then, struggling, he lifted Don out of the blood puddle and rolled him in the sheets, wrapping them around him like a full body bandage.He didn’t wipe off Don’s skin first, since he didn’t want to disturb any scabs that might have started forming.He took Don’s discarded robe and wrapped that around him as well.He set him gently on a clear spot on the floor. 

Now came the tough part – getting Don to his car without being seen.


	2. Car

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will tries to get Don to his car without being seen.

**Title:** The Long, Dark Night of Will Stevens, Part 2 **  
Pairing:** Don/Will **  
Rating:** NC-17, FRAO **  
Summary:** Will rescues Don from The Chamber.  
Part 2 - Car  
Will tries to get Don to his car without being seen.  
 **Disclaimer:** Not my characters, not my world, making no money. **  
Feedback:** Yes, please! Feed the author!  
 **Warnings: Angst, Abuse**  
 **A/N:** And now for something completely different ...  This is Will's POV of Parts 6  & 7 of  "Looking for Love."   This story will be in four to five parts. Thanks to my betas.

 

**Part 2 – Car**

Will peeked out into the main hall.No one was nearby.He looked down at himself and realized he was covered in Don’s blood. _Dammit._ He’d been kneeling in the stuff and his jeans were stiff with blood from the knees down.He had spots and streaks all over the rest of body from moving Don around.He couldn’t let himself be seen either.He took a breath, willed himself invisible, then slipped down the hall.

Don’s guardian angel was still watching over him, because Will got out of the building and to his car without catching anyone’s attention.He drove his car around to the back entrance and parked by the door.

He rushed back to the room where he’d left Don.He had the terrible fear that Don had come around in his absence and was wandering the halls – naked, lost, and bloody.

Don was still there, lying on the floor, his breathing shallow.Will chewed on his lip, then realized indecision was worse than the wrong decision.He closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and summoned all the strength he could find.Opening his eyes and reaching down, he gathered Don into his arms.Don was a solid dead weight and Will staggered before he got Don’s mass centered.He opened the door to the main hall and glanced out.Whispering a quick invocation to Don’s guardian angel, Will walked as quickly as he could to his car. 

Breathing heavily, he rested Don against the trunk while he pulled open the car door.He’d barely laid Don on the back seat when he heard a voice say, “Stevens?”

He quickly turned.Martinez stood nearby, a quizzical look on his face.

“Hey,” Will said, leaning casually against the car to cover his clothing and block any possible view of Don.He slid mentally into ‘undercover’ mode. “I’m just getting some of my stuff from here.”

Martinez smirked.“You get all the great assignments.”

“Oh yeah,” Will grumbled.“Like I really enjoyed being whipped five times a day.”

“Would have taken you for a Dom sort,” Martinez snorted.

“Oh, I am,” Will said with a masculine leer.“But people pay a lot less attention to subs so I could snoop around easier.”

“Tough,” Martinez laughed.“I bet you’d love getting pretty boys on their knees in front of you.”

“You know it,” Will grinned.“But hey, I kinda … don’t want my stuff to be evidence, ya know?”

“So you’re sneaking it out the back,” Martinez said.

“Yep,”Will said. “I had three changes of clothes in the locker here and my favorite jeans are still in there.”

“You gay guys and your clothes,” Martinez said, but it was without rancor.

Will shrugged and smiled.“Was there something you wanted?”

“Nope,” Martinez said.“You want a hand?”

Will felt an inner chill as Martinez stepped closer to the car, but easily kept it from his face and voice.“Naw, thanks. I just got one more load.”

Martinez nodded.“See ya at work on Monday then.Good work here.”

“Thanks,” Will said, “See ya Monday.”

Martinez walked away and Will turned back to the open car door.He couldn’t care less about anything he’d left here, but Don’s stuff was still in his locker, and unless he got that out, there was little point in getting Don himself to safety.He leaned into the back seat and dug the locker key out of the robe that was wrapped around Don’s still form.Will quickly checked Don’s pulse and it was slow but steady.Don had fallen into a heavy sleep. _Good._

Shutting the car door, Will went back into the building.He opened dungeon doors at random until he found a discarded robe.He put it on over his bloody clothing and walked to the sub locker room, dodging other agents and frightened Chamber members as he went.He found Don’s locker and pulled out a gym bag.He quickly stuffed clothes, wallet, phone and car keys into the bag. _His car, damn._ Will could only hope that the DEA wouldn’t see a need to run down the owner of every abandoned car in the parking lot.He slung the bag over his shoulder and hurried back to his car.Every time he left Don alone for more than a minute, he was afraid he’d come back and find him dead or gone.

Don’s condition hadn’t changed when Will checked him yet again.Will tossed the bag into the car and drove the car out of the parking lot, waving casually to a few other agents.It wasn’t until he got on the highway that his shoulders started to relax.

“Okay, Don,” he said to his silent passenger.“We’ve made it out of there.But you might want to pray to the deity of your choice that I’ve made the right decision, or else I’m screwed and you’re dead.”


	3. House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will gets Don through the night.

**Title:** The Long, Dark Night of Will Stevens, Part 3 **  
Pairing:** Don/Will **  
Rating:** NC-17, FRAO **  
Summary:** Will rescues Don from The Chamber.  
Part 3 - House  
Will gets Don through the night.  
 **Disclaimer:** Not my characters, not my world, making no money. **  
Feedback:** Yes, please! Feed the author!  
 **Warnings: Angst, Abuse**  
 **A/N:** And now for something completely different ...  This is Will's POV of Parts 6  & 7 of  "Looking for Love."   This story will be in four parts. Thanks to my betas.  


**Part 3 - House  
**

The drive to Will’s house wasn’t that long, but he begrudged every second of it.He kept his hands tightly gripped to the steering wheel and fought the urge to constantly turn and look at Don. 

Finally he reached his house and pulled into the driveway.Leaving the front door wide open, Will raced through his house and into his bedroom.He quickly stripped the nice sheets from his bed and replaced them with an old stained set.Those sheets were going to get much more stained.He hurried back to his car and, as gently as he could, carried the still comatose Don into the house.He walked unsteadily through the house and into his bedroom.There he carefully laid Don on the bed and tossed away Don’s blood-smeared robe.He went back out to his car to get Don’s things and saw that his back seat was spotted with blood. _Oh well, needed to be detailed anyway._

Will shut the car door then the front door.He put Don’s stuff in the living room and dragged a chair from his kitchen into the bedroom.He carefully tucked Don under the blankets.He also checked the level of Don’s blood loss by pressing underneath his fingernail.The blood came back into the tissue slower than ideal, but still within the range of his level of medical care.

He pulled out his DEA badge and stuck it next to the bed, hoping the sight of it would reassure Don when he woke. 

Then there was nothing left for Will to do.The recent adrenaline-fueled hours were catching up to him.First calling in the raid, then carrying it out, then finding Don and getting him home.

He sat down in his uncomfortable chair, put his head in his hands, and let the tremors overtake him. 

_What the_ Hell _have you done?Are you out of your mind?_

He was far too aware of his obsessive personality, but this was ridiculous even for him.He hadn’t hesitated, hadn’t _hesitated_.God, what sort of hold did this man have on him?He’d never believed in love at first sight.Lust at first sight, definitely.Obsession at first sight, maybe. 

He knew his past did explain some of his need to get Don out of there.If Jim hadn’t gotten him out of the situation he was in, Will had no doubt whatsoever that he would have died from a drug overdose within six months.

Don groaned and Will’s head shot up.Don was awake and looking around, his blood-shot eyes confused and apprehensive.His gaze fastened on Will. 

“You were at Titan, the first time I went there,” Don whispered.

Hiding a wince at how raw and rough Don’s voice was, Will nodded. 

“Who are you?What am I doing here?” Don struggled to sit up and Will swore under his breath.He jumped up from his chair then realized that would look aggressive and sat down quickly.

He held out his hands, pleading, “You’re badly hurt, just lie still.” _Don’t undo all my work already._  

Don’s jaw clenched at what must be terrible pain, but he was too much of an agent to not ask questions.“Who are you?”

_Right, he’d fainted before I told him this._ “Will Stevens.I’m DEA.” 

Don’s face grew more confused.“DEA?What …”

“The Chamber was a major drug front and we raided it tonight,” Will continued, keeping his voice neutral.“I found you and took you out of there.You’re at my house.I didn’t tell anyone else about you.I just wrapped you in a sheet and put you in my car.” _Time to drop the bomb._ “I know who you are, Don Eppes.” __

Don stared at him then groaned and fell back against his pillow. _Finally realizing now what an idiot you’ve been?_

“How do you feel?”Will asked, knowing it was a stupid question, but it needed to be asked. 

“Like I’ve been beat, whipped, burned, ripped, cut, and who knows what the hell else.”

“Dammit, why did you—“ Will bit down on the angry words that threatened to spill from his mouth.Yelling at Don wasn’t a luxury he could afford.It might make Don decide he needed to leave …He mentally reached for his undercover training and locked away his natural reactions. _I am a composed, helpful man aiding a fellow Fed, nothing more._  

Will said, his voice calm and even, “You need medical attention, but I figured leaving you unconscious until you came around yourself was probably the kindest thing to do.”

“Yeah,” Don grimaced.“But I can’t go to an emergency room.” 

“Probably not,” Will said.“I can help you some.I used to be an EMT.But that can wait until the morning.You don’t seem to be in any immediate danger and I think … opening up your wounds at the moment would just send you into shock.” _Please, God, let me be right._

“Why did you help me?”Don asked. 

_Because you’re Don Eppes and I couldn’t not help you.No, I am_ just _aiding a fellow Fed._ “I was at The Chamber undercover.At Titan too, before that.I knew you had been coming to The Chamber but of all nights for you to fall into Channing’s hands …”Will shook his head, remembering the awful moment of realization.

“Well, thanks,” Don said.And tried again to get up.“I need to go … I need to go.” 

_Like Hell you do._ “I’m not taking you anywhere in that shape,” Will said firmly. __

“Fine, I’ll call a cab.” 

_If you leave here, it’ll be in my car or in an ambulance._ Will gave him a faint smile. “I’m sure cabbies are used to worse fares, but the only phone in my house is my cell, and I always have that with me.If you can take it from me, you’re welcome to use it.”

Don stared at him and Will waited for him to make up his mind.If Don demanded, Will would let him go.He could only hope that Don was smart enough to make a rational decision. _Not like he’s demonstrated a great deal of intelligence or rationality lately._  

At last, Don sighed with what sounded like resignation.Will’s shoulders relaxed a fraction.

Don asked, “So you were just at Titan undercover?” 

_Not asking about the raid or Channing, interesting_.“Mostly, but I already go there off and on so no one suspected me.”

“You’re gay?” __

Will hid the frisson of fear that question always gave him. “Yep.”

“And DEA.” 

“Yep.Wanna see my badge?”

Don nodded and Will pointed to the side table where he’d laid his badge.He winced as Don awkwardly reached over to retrieve it, his movements slow and pain-ridden.Will stayed in his chair and let Don study the badge. 

After a moment of staring at the badge, Don’s eyes began to droop and his hand holding the badge began to drift downwards.

“Sleep,” Will said, willing Don to let go of his natural suspicions and get the sleep he urgently needed.“You can ask me for a phone again in the morning.”Will hoped that Don wouldn’t ask again, but if he did, he’d let him go.He wasn’t going to keep Don a prisoner, at least for more than tonight. 

Don’s eyes closed and his hand slid to the bed.In a few breaths, he was asleep again.Will got up quietly and freed the badge from Don’s hand.He set it again on the side table and fixed the blanket around Don’s shoulders.

Will gazed down at the sleeping man.He wanted so much to touch his face, to smooth the pain lines from his forehead.He clenched his hand against his side and forced himself to return to his chair.There was nothing he could do to ease the pain.Only wait. 

Will sat in his chair and stared at the bed.Don’s face was so pale it almost shone in the dim lamplight.He had lost so much blood.His body had been abused to the point of total shutdown.He’d seemed relatively alert just now, but that could have just been adrenaline from waking up helpless in a strange place.The drain from that adrenaline hit could be just the thing to push him over the edge, into a coma or death.

The hours passed as Will kept a tense vigil.He couldn’t even touch Don for fear of waking him from whatever healing his body was doing, so he could only monitor his condition with his eyes and ears.Even if Don had been awake, Will couldn’t risk giving him painkillers.He didn’t think that Don had any internal injuries, but he couldn’t know without a closer examination.He wished for IV fluids, heart and breathing monitors, a blood transfusion, a crash cart. _Why not wish for a magic wand while you’re at it?_ Will was used to wishing for things he didn’t get.He was used to life giving frozen dinners when he hoped for steak, a sickly houseplant when he longed for forests. 

_Just once, please, please_ , he begged no one and everyone. _Just once._

The night dragged on.He raged under his breath and cursed Don’s stupidity.He speculated on what had led Don to this terrible condition. He stared into space, he paced, he even prayed.Will and God hadn’t been on speaking terms for a long time, but Will was calling in every aid that he could think of.Besides, maybe there was some divine source out there that cared about Don, and just needed to be reminded that Don desperately needed help. 

Mostly, Will watched Don sleep.He knew that every hour that went by, Don’s chances of making it through this without a run to the emergency room increased.Perhaps Will’s choices hadn’t been the best ones, but Don was here, now, and Will could only move forward.

 


	4. Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will convinces Don to let him help.

**Title:** The Long, Dark Night of Will Stevens, Part 4 of 4 **  
Pairing:** Don/Will **  
Rating:** NC-17, FRAO **  
Summary:** Will rescues Don from The Chamber.  
Part 4 - Bed  
Will convinces Don to let him help.  
 **Disclaimer:** Not my characters, not my world, making no money. **  
Feedback:** Yes, please! Feed the author!  
 **Warnings: Angst, Abuse**  
 **A/N:** This is Will's POV of Parts 6  & 7 of  "Looking for Love," and is now complete.  Thanks to my betas.

**Part 4 - Bed  
**

Will came awake with a start, his heart pounding.He hadn’t meant to fall asleep.He looked towards the bed, to find Don alert and looking around. _Looks a little less dead this morning …_  

“Good morning,” Will said, standing and stretching to give himself time to wake up.His jeans stuck to his legs and he remembered that he’d never changed out of his blood-soaked clothes. _Oh well, not like Don doesn’t know he bled last night._

Don was looking down at his own body, his face a grimace of pain and distaste.It looked even worse than it had last night, if that was possible.His shoulders were caked with dried blood, and covered with cuts, bruises, and burns. 

Will needed to get a closer look, check for possible internal injuries.“Okay,” he said reluctantly.“Guess we better see what you got yourself into.”He came around the side of the bed and Don clutched his sheet around him.

Will sighed. _I’ve seen it all already, remember?_ But he knew this wasn’t about modesty, it was about shame.Don felt that Will couldn’t understand.He didn’t realize that he wasn’t the first person to fall to Channing, or someone like him. 

Crouching so that his eyes were level with Don’s, Will said quietly, “I told you that I was an EMT, right?I’ve picked up people from The Chamber before who were in worse shape than you, but then they were usually dead.”

Don raised his eyebrows and Will nodded, feeling the old, useless bitterness. “LAPD Vice has kept an eye on them for a while but there hasn’t been anything they could prosecute.The Chamber has damn good lawyers.”He couldn’t help a satisfied smile.He’d built a tight, clean case for the DEA.“Let’s see them get out of the drug charges.” 

Don shuddered, and Will wondered what dark thought caused that particular shudder.There were so many possibilities …

Will felt the need to explain, perhaps vainly, that The Chamber wasn’t what BDSM was about.After such an experience, Don would probably never understand. _Too bad, because he’d make a spectacular sub– Stop that!_  

Will gathered his straying thoughts and continued, “I’m overjoyed to see The Chamber get shut down.Ninety-nine percent of BDSM clubs are responsible organizations, concerned with the health of all their members, and dedicated to _safe_ power play.But it’s that last one percent that harbors monsters like Channing that are the most frightening, especially if someone goes in there thinking that the club will look after him.I don’t know if The Chamber has even heard of a Dungeon Monitor. I bet Channing told you that you didn’t need limits or a safe word.”

Don nodded and, unable to hold it back, Will’s anger boiled to the surface.He said harshly, “I bet he also made you think that you were only there for his pleasure.That’s not the way it should work, you should be his partner, not his … piece of meat.I bet you had no idea what your role was supposed to be, nobody explained it to you.Your first Dom was Ragan, right?Total wannabe.Goddamned _filthy_ club.” 

Will was shaking with anger and he took a few extra breaths.How many other people had The Chamber ruined?Well, Don was one too many.If his drug case didn’t stick, he may have to go back there with a gas can and matches.

He wanted to touch Don’s arm, but didn’t know how that would be interpreted.Besides, there was nowhere to touch that wouldn’t hurt.He put his hand on the mattress and leaned forward. “I was worried when I found out that you were being called the sub no one could reach.Then that night I found out you were under that sick bastard and I was terrified.There’s been more than one body carried out of his dungeon.”Will could see very clearly the outcome of a clash between a stubborn, untutored sub and a vindictive, arrogant Dom. By the time that Don finally died, it would have come as a release. 

“I was so relieved when I finally got that last piece of evidence I needed to call in the raid.” _A gross understatement.I don’t think dispatch quite knew what to think of my jubilant demand for a raid._ Now he just needed to give Don a reason, and wasn’t about to give him the truth.“I didn’t want to have to explain to anyone how I let a fellow Fed get tortured and murdered right under my nose.”

“Now please,” Will begged.“Let me see?” 

Don sighed, closed his eyes, and let go of the sheet.As gently as he could, Will peeled the sheet away from Don’s body.Will couldn’t hold back a gasp and Don’s eyes snapped open.

In the light of day, the devastation was even more horrific.Will gritted his teeth, and checked for signs of internal injuries. Happily, there didn’t seem to be any, or signs of broken bones, save for the obvious shattered fingers.The “surface” wounds were plenty.

Will turned to a more thorough examination.To keep his sanity, he forced himself to systematically categorize the wounds, as if he was writing them on a medical chart. _1 st degree burn, shallow cut, abrasion, shallow cut, 2nd degree burn – needs gauze, shallow cut, moderate cut, significant bruise – watch for possible hematoma, 1st degree burn, deep cut – needs butterfly tape, moderate bruise, 2nd degree burn – more gauze, significant area of abrasion – possible need for occlusive bandage, swelling – alternate cold and hot compresses …_

The cataloging kept him focused, thinking about salves and bandages and treatments, instead of the pain that Don must be in.He thought his first-aid kit had everything he needed, but maybe not in high enough quantities. _Might need to run out to the drugstore._  

It wasn’t until Will reached Don’s anus that he lost control.The huge dildo had been shoved in without preparation or lubricant.The area around the asshole was broken and torn.He carefully separated Don’s bloody ass cheeks and saw the damage that had been done.

“Damn,” Will hissed.“You’ve got multiple first-degree anal tears.That _bastard_.”

Will turned his head away from Don and fought for control.Over the last few months, he’d more than once jerked off to thoughts of Don’s sweet ass.To see it in this damaged condition made him want to rip Channing’s balls to shreds and shove them down Channing’s throat.

He got himself contained, barely, and turned back to see Don watching him.Don’s curious look gave Will the extra incentive needed to gain control.The last thing he needed was for Don to start questioning his motives.

Frowning, Will mentally reviewed what he needed to check. _Oh right._ “Let me see your mouth,” he said and Don opened his lips.

Will took Don’s chin in his hand and turned him toward the light, trying not to get distracted by Don’s fine profile.The interior of Don’s mouth was enough to make him forget.It looked like Don had taken all of his reactions to Channing’s attacks out on his ball gag.“You must have had one helluva death grip on that gag.You’ve got sores from your tongue to your gums to inside your cheeks.I bet your jaw aches too.”

Don shut his mouth and nodded.

Releasing Don’s chin, Will suddenly felt at the end of his rope.He needed to get away from Don before his reserve cracked.He summoned up hard-learned control from Aikido and gave Don a summary.His voice sounded odd to his own ears, but at least it wasn’t shaking.“So, burns, bruises, cuts, abrasions.Along with at least two broken fingers.Not to mention your muscles are probably very sore and you’ve lost a lot of blood.The anal tears are the most worrisome since they can get infected very easily.”

He stood up from the bed.“We need to get you cleaned up, so I can start plastering you with medication and bandages.”

It took the last of Will’s energy to walk normally across his bedroom to the bathroom.He stepped into the bathroom, shut the door behind himself, and stumbled over to sink to wash the blood from his hands.Then he grabbed the sink and held on, letting the tears run down his face.

“How can you hate yourself so much?” he whispered.“How could you let someone do those things to you?Did you feel like you deserved to be tortured?God, what happened to you?” 

Sudden anger swept through him.“How dare you do that to yourself? I know you’re not a moron so it had to be deliberate, you had to know what you were getting into when you met Channing.Fucking idiot!Forget your job, your career, you could easily have died in that dungeon!For what?Pride?”

The anger faded, leaving Will feeling sad … and determined.He wiped his eyes and nose, checking in the mirror to make sure he looked normal.He stared at his reflection.He’d set himself a hard task, was he up to it?Could he set aside his emotions and do what needed to be done? 

_Too late to be asking that.You’ve made your choices and now you’ve got to turn them into the right choices._

“Don Eppes,” he whispered.“You are getting my help, whether you feel you deserve it or not.For now, let me care about you enough for both of us.” 

Will opened the door, and went to start putting the pieces of Don back together.


End file.
